Feeding frenzy fun

It takes months of planning, weeks of cooking and a small army of volunteers to pull off Catholic Charities of Southern Nevada's annual Thanksgiving meal for homeless and needy people.

The charity's kitchen staffers will cook 365 turkeys for today's meal for about 2,200 people.

They also will prepare 22 cases of instant potatoes, 100 gallons of gravy and 250 pumpkin pies, said Don Meza, Catholic Charities' executive chef and kitchen operations supervisor.

Meza said he always enjoys feeding the less-fortunate, but coordinating all the supplies, food preparation and 125 volunteers for the special holiday meal is a logistical challenge. He handles it matter-of-factly.

"It all goes OK if everybody stays in rhythm," Meza said while giving a tour Wednesday of Catholic Charities' kitchen. "I just have to motivate the line and keep it going."

"The line" is four serving stations at which volunteers will stand, dishing up plates in an assembly line. Other volunteers will serve the plates to the waiting hungry in Catholic Charities' St. Vincent Lied Dining Facility.

Thanksgiving dinner will be served there from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., and from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.

The charity first began serving Thanksgiving dinners to the needy 43 years ago, said Sharon Mann, a Catholic Charities spokeswoman. Back then, only about 50 people showed up.

Today, Meza and his staff of 18 have to begin cooking Thanksgiving dinner weeks in advance. They prepare most of it fresh, then freeze it and store it stacked in one of the kitchen's several walk-in freezers.

At 2 a.m. Thanksgiving morning, a massive reheating operation begins.

"Our goal is to have everything ready at 9 a.m.," Meza said.

The hot food is placed in warmers to await serving. People begin lining up as early as 6 a.m. and eat in shifts.

"There's so much excitement when we come in in the morning," Mann said. "The volunteers are so happy to be here. People enjoy the meal; you can see it in their eyes."

So many people volunteer to help feed the needy on Thanksgiving that Catholic Charities weeks ago stopped accepting new volunteers for the day.

"They start volunteering months in advance," Mann said. "If we get too many people, it's almost a hazard."

Still, she said, several people usually show up at the last minute hoping to volunteer, and "we put them to work. We don't turn anybody away."

The huge meal actually doesn't cost the charity much, because most of the food is donated, Mann said.

This year, Lee's Discount Liquor donated $5,000, which the charity used to buy 1,150 turkeys at a discounted rate from a local grocery store chain.

It's enough turkeys to see Catholic Charities through the holidays and far beyond.

Also donated were the dinner rolls, gravy, pies, cranberry sauce, bread for stuffing and other supplies.

Individuals also have been stopping by to donate turkeys -- 250 turkeys so far.

"They come in one at a time," Mann said Wednesday.

As if on cue, a man named Jose showed up at one of the kitchen doors and handed Mann a single frozen turkey.

Meza, who has been working in local kitchens for three decades, said such impromptu donations make his Catholic Charities job especially interesting.

"It's such a variety of food that comes in. It's the joy of being able to cook anything."

One day last week, for example, the kitchen received eight cases of crab legs.

"We served it for lunch," Meza said.

The Las Vegas Rescue Mission also is serving a traditional Thanksgiving dinner for the homeless and needy today.

The local Salvation Army will serve a modified holiday meal, with ham and pork instead of turkey. Its traditional Thanksgiving dinner was served on Wednesday to avoid duplication in services.

"We all try to coordinate with each other," said Charlie Desiderio, a Salvation Army spokesman.

Meza said preparing daily and holiday meals for the needy is a rewarding job.

"I love it because people come in hungry and get to eat."

Contact reporter Lynnette Curtis at lcurtis@reviewjournal.com or (702) 383-0285.